I made a similar question about a year ago and no one ever had any answers, so I though I would ask again. Has anyone tried Renaissance heads on toms or a bass drum (I know how they are on snares) or a drum kit? What does it sound like compared to other heads? I'm considering something different for my Gretsch kit (13,16,18,26) to get that vintage sound. I have coated g2s over coated g1s right now and the bass has a coated eq1 over coated g1. These heads work well, but I was hoping to get more of that round warm tone. I know Fiberskyns could work, but I'm interested in Renaissance heads' performance.

I've seen them on tympani and concert bass drums as well as a few snares but not what they would do on tom toms or kick drums. I'm thinking it's a warm open sound, I'm just not sure if it's too open, being that the attack is covered up by the resonance or not.

I played in a jazz band with a cat who had the Renaissance heads on everything (I thought they were the Ren Ambassador, but they were translucent, so maybe Emperors). Very open sound, just like you would expect. Lots of sustain, which worked very well for jazz. We also did a Rhythm and Blues band with this guy, and it worked well for that.

He had a Fiberskyn on his kick, though, so I can't speak to the Ren heads on that.

I've tried them on several snares, a couple of 14" floor toms and a 10" tom. They sound great on a snare drum (reminded me of a coated diplomat) for a sensitive feel. They seem to have a little more "give", like you're playing on a trampoline versus a countertop at tight tensions.

I didn't like their sound so much on the toms. I thought it lacked focus. Plus, the feel wasn't "right". I prefer coated ambassadors, and even coated emperors, to the renaissance heads. Just my opinion, though.

I'm leaning more towards Fiberskyns because I am familiar with them, and they seem to emulate calf-skin and that old fashioned sound. Renaissance heads tend to just be a warm, sustained head, with a soft attack. I wonder why Remo markets them both as 'calf-like sound and feel'.

I have been using a 14" Renaissance for my snare head... and I'll be honest, I HATE it. Just today, I took it to a gig, and for jazz, it looks great, but no matter what tuning I try to apply (and I assure you that I've tried many combinations, both ridiculous and perfectly within reason), there is still a very detached feeling within the drum, almost as if the snare is more like a timbale than a snare drum. I don't know what it is, but I can't get a good buzz out of the snare.

I'm sure it would sound great if you wanted a very, very, very authentic Gene Krupa-esque sound, with the sort of tacky-thwacky effect on all the drums... but for some reason (and maybe my head's just defective, I don't know) it just doesn't sound jazzy enough for me.

I have tried remaissance emps on my toms 12 and 16. From the size of your drums it seems you play rock, I do too. They had great tonality. Very round warm sound and a beautiful sustain. But I tend to be a hard hitter and they only kept a good sound for about 1 week and after 3 weeks I had split them all (including the snare head) I have only split 1 other head in my life and it was on a snare. you might want to go with the Ebony Suedes emps. They have a similar sound and last a bit longer... still to short for my taste but longer than the renaissance. Have you tried coated Emperors? that may be your best bet, much more vintage sounding than g2's imo

I made a similar question about a year ago and no one ever had any answers, so I though I would ask again. Has anyone tried Renaissance heads on toms or a bass drum (I know how they are on snares) or a drum kit? What does it sound like compared to other heads? I'm considering something different for my Gretsch kit (13,16,18,26) to get that vintage sound. I have coated g2s over coated g1s right now and the bass has a coated eq1 over coated g1. These heads work well, but I was hoping to get more of that round warm tone. I know Fiberskyns could work, but I'm interested in Renaissance heads' performance.

My kit is a classic 4-pc.1958 Slingerland Radio King (Marine Pearl) which my parents bought me as a teenager, and I've (mostly) used coated Remo Ambassador batter heads for decades ... until recently. I decided to try the Renaissance batter heads all the way around (including my BD) and have been very pleased with their response, warmth and tonality — everything I was looking for. I play straight-ahead jazz primarily, but also enjoy Latin-tinged music, and these heads have not let me down thus far.

While I can't possibly know what makes you happy, I feel that these heads possess a very round, warm tone ... a vintage sound. For what it's worth, I never dug Fiberskyn heads.

I played in a jazz band with a cat who had the Renaissance heads on everything (I thought they were the Ren Ambassador, but they were translucent, so maybe Emperors).

The only way single ply (amb.) or double (emp.) would matter with translucence is that the Emperor would be less so, due to 2 layers of film... They should both be somewhat translucent though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clayton_C

I have been using a 14" Renaissance for my snare head... and I'll be honest, I HATE it. Just today, I took it to a gig, and for jazz, it looks great, but no matter what tuning I try to apply (and I assure you that I've tried many combinations, both ridiculous and perfectly within reason), there is still a very detached feeling within the drum, almost as if the snare is more like a timbale than a snare drum. I don't know what it is, but I can't get a good buzz out of the snare.

You mean you're using it as a snare-side head? Does Remo make a Renaissance snare-side head? If you're using a batter head (even a Diplomat, which is still thicker than any snare-side head), there's your problem.

Cymbalrider, I know you weren't asking about Ren's as snare heads, but I feel like I should add that I've used both Amb. & Emp. weights for 13 & 14" snare batter heads for a few years now, and they sound identical to the coated Amb. & Emp's I was using before, except there's no coating that comes off and onto my hats & ride. Plus, there's enough texture that brushes sound just as good also. So, the Ren's get thumbs up from me! :D Has anyone compared them to the Suede heads? I've never tried those...

not that I was a huge fan of Fiberskyn heads either; they were very sensitive to climate change (too much like calf I guess :) Dawson, that's a beautiful Slingerland kit by the way. I'm still undecided, but I have a ways to go before those coated g2s wear out, so I have some time to decide. Of course, I think it's hard to make a Radio King set sound bad. I'm sure they would work just fine with my Gretsch Catalina Rock set. I play with a swing band, and I would love to get more of that Krupa-vibe. I have two sets (the other is a Mapex Pro M studio kit) and I want to make them sound as different as possible. I want the Mapex, with it's small drums to have that modern sound and the Gretsch to have a big warm vintage tone. Apparently, the world seems pretty divided over Reniassance heads too. They are easier to find to order than Fiberskyns (except for the 26" size) and seem like they would be a good deal more reliable without the bubbly peely effect. There's a snare at school here that has Renaissance heads top and bottom (although they probably need replaced--old heads) which sounds fine (it's a vintage Rogers maple) so I know how they work on snares, which is nice.

You mean you're using it as a snare-side head? Does Remo make a Renaissance snare-side head? If you're using a batter head (even a Diplomat, which is still thicker than any snare-side head), there's your problem.

No, of course I'm not using it as a reso head! I suppose I'm just not a good fit for these heads, even though I consider myself an avid jazz purist. I just got an Evans Genera 1 dry on there and its a significant improvement.

I think the Ren heads are fantastic! I love the complexity and quality of the sound. They can make cheap drums sound fairly expensive with a savvy tuner.

Using them on the snare has been love/hate for me. It's a wonderful, thick tone with just a hint of ring (compared to a coated Ambassador), but twice the head broke during two separate performances. I think the textured scoring of the head makes it less durable and it might be related to the fact I had the snare tension cranked.

The Ren Diplomats make awesome resonant heads, too! My rock kit is a Tama Rockstar DX (1989) and I use coated Emps on the tops and Ren Dips on the bottoms. I had a sound engineer in disbelief that they weren't Artstar shells.

No, of course I'm not using it as a reso head! I suppose I'm just not a good fit for these heads, even though I consider myself an avid jazz purist. I just got an Evans Genera 1 dry on there and its a significant improvement.

Heh- didn't mean to offend ya; I've seen a regular clear amb. used as a snare reso, not once, but twice, with the owners asking me why the snare sounded like a dud.

I dont know about anything else, but on a bass, the sound is horrendous, the worst bass sound i've ever heard. it was actually worse than a starter kits bass head with the stock head on. Just a really really bad sound. Very plasticy, no low end, it didnt really sound like a bass, not warm at all. needs extreme muffling to sound decent. when the bass head on our school's kit broke (SKII, sounded incredible), our teacher who knows little about drums bought this head, replacing it soon. the drum is an intermediate kit, dont know the exact name or company.

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I'm interested in trying them now really. I've got one on order for a doumbek, but again this is very different from applications to toms and bass. The main thing that's got me interested is that Renaissance heads are an open sound, but without the plastic attack of clear heads and can't loose texture like coated heads. Fiberskyns, because of the laminated layer, are a little muffled, and have a very sort of flat attack. I loved the tone, but sometimes they just sounded dead in different venues. I had them on my Mapex kit and we had regular gigs at a restaurant outside on the patio. Depending on the humidity, they changed the tuning and sustain--almost like real calf. Eventually, because of the humidity I think, they started bubbling in the middle which further dampened the head. I've heard Renaissance heads on concert basses and the bass drum in question is a 26", so I think I can expect a big boomy sound. I just hope the floor toms don't sound like tympani

Don't know what you ended up doing,but thought I woud add my 2 cents,I tried the ren ambassadors on the toms, batter side,on two kits a 1966 Rogers 12 mt and 14ft, and an eames birch kit.I don't know what mapex rig you are using but this is what i found.the rogers are a thin shelled Maple and poplar mix with maple re rings,the are warm and have alot of middle to their sound,I would use clear diplomats as resos and clear pinstripes or coated ambs as batters depending if i wanted more bass or attack,I liked the rens they sounded good but I found they brought out even more warmth/ middle in the drums at mid level tuning so I liked the attack and dryness of coated ambs better on that kit,I did'nt try a higher jazz tuning but they might work there,I then tried them on the eames kit ,clear dips as resos 10,12,14,16. The eames are a thick 3/8and 1/2 inch unobstucted shell.I would usually use clear or coatd ambs on the batter side depending on whether I was going for punchy modern sound or a warmer more traditional sound.The eames by nature are a loud punchy and somewhat aggressive kit and like alot of birch kits have a rich dark tone with alot of attack,when I put the rens on it they warmed up alot,I guess they brought out more middle than either the clear ambsor the coated ambs and the attack mellowed slightly, they really sounded like a cross between a clear amb and a coated amb,ressonance and punch more like a clear head but more warmth like a coated but not as dry.I really prefer the rens on that kit now.I also tried the ren amb on a 6.5 14 15 ply birch 5/8 snare and it had no depth or body at all.

I'M CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF RESTORING MY 1950'S WFL 14X22 BASS DRUM, AND UPON IT'S COMPLETION , I WILL USE A REMO EMPEROR RENAISSANCE HEAD ON THE RESONANT SIDE ONLY, AS I FIND THISTO BE THE ONLY USE FOR THESE HEADS DRUMKIT...ALTHOUGH I'VE NEVER HEARD THEM ON TOMS , I THINK THE CHARACTERISTICS DESCRIBED BY MOST DRUMMERSI KNOW ONLY MAKE MY ASSUMPTION OF THESE HEADS TO RING TRUE ,, ( NO PUN INTENDED !! )..IF YOU GO TO THE DRUMDOCTORS.COM WEBSITE , KNOWN OFCOURSE FOR THEIR EXPERTISE IN THE FIELD OF ALL THAT IS DRUMS AND VINTAGE DRUMS , I NOTICED THEY USE RENAISSANCE HEADS ON A LOT OF THEIR RESO SIDE BASS DRUM HEADS..IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE SOUND YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF YOUR DRUMS, BUT THESE HEADS , I THINK, ARE TAILOR MADE FOR THAT REASON ONLY..AND I'D HAVE TO AGREE WITH CLAYTON C ON HIS MISTRUST WITH THESE HEADS ON A SNARE DRUM..DON'T WORRY DUDE, NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR EARS, THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ON THIS SUBJECT...
CHEERS TO ALL AND ENJOY THE RHYTHM ![